Embodiments of the present invention relate to a pool ladder safety system and, more specifically, to a safety system for preventing injury and entanglement with pool ladders used in above-ground swimming pools.
Above-ground swimming pools are known. The most common types of above-ground pools are constructed of steel, resin, plastic, or other materials. Above-ground pools are generally constructed using a perimeter frame, of various designs, with a heavy plastic, vinyl, or fabric liner to contain water. Above-ground pools may also be collapsible to enable convenient storage and/or include portals as disclosed in Cheng et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/466,681, filed Aug. 23, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Above-ground pools are generally constructed entirely above-ground. In other words, a suitably level site is chosen and the pool is assembled and filled in place. This introduces a problem peculiar to above-ground pools—access. In-ground pools provide easy access because they are, by definition, at the level of the ground around them. One can simply step off of the pool deck and into the in-ground pool, though steps or a ladder are often provided. Therefore, with an in-ground pool one has only to lower themselves into the water.
On the other hand, to access an above-ground pool, a ladder, deck, or other apparatus must be provided to allow the user to first climb up to the level of the pool and then down to enter the water. Additionally, the frame provided with an above-ground pool is often designed only to retain the shape of the liner and provide structural support. The frame may lack the structural rigidity for use as a method to enter the pool. Indeed, many would find it inconvenient, if not impossible, to climb into an above-ground pool using only the frame, regardless of structural considerations.
As a result, most above-ground pools include a deck or ladder to aid ingress and egress. Because the sides of an above-ground pool are generally not sufficiently rigid to support the ladder, the ladder must be either be supported by the pool deck, which itself is free-standing, or the ladder must be a self-supporting A-frame type ladder. In either case, a portion of these ladders generally rest on the bottom of the pool. This creates an area between the pool wall and the ladder in which a swimmer's body and/or limbs can become trapped.
In addition, the ladder in an above-ground pool also tends to lean away from the sidewall of the pool from top to bottom. This creates a roughly triangular area formed by the ladder, the sidewall, and the bottom of the pool in which one can become trapped or entangled. Further, because the ladder and the ladder rungs are farther away from the sidewall of the pool, the chances increase that a swimmer's foot will slip off of the ladder rung and become entangled in the ladder, or between the ladder and the pool.